Dear parents and carers,

We had a terrific group of children and parents at the Western Region Cross Country at Batlow last week. Congratulations to the children on their wonderful enthusiasm and perseverance! Everyone gave their best to both competing and supporting other team members in their races. Special congratulations to Ariahana for achieving second place in her age group and the honour of being one of the representatives from the West at the upcoming Archdiocesan Cross Country.

Jump into Joeys School Readiness Program 2024

We were delighted to welcome preschoolers to join with the Kindergarten children on Wednesday this week for the first of the Jump into Joey's School Readiness Program. The children had a great time in the sunshine exploring a wide range of movement activities, thanks to Mrs Caruana and Mrs Best.

All children from the Grenfell community due to start school in 2025 are very welcome to come and join the program outlined below. The 7 sessions conclude with an Open Evening and Bar-be que in term 3.

Music in Term 2 and St Joseph’s

As mentioned in last week's newsletter we are delighted to welcome Mr Mark Corkery to St Joseph's to teach Music  lessons and individual instrumental lessons this term.  Yr 2/3/4/ and Yr 5/6 will be learning the ukelele with Mr Corkery during term 2 . It was great to see the students so engaged and really enjoying their first ukulele experience on Tuesday!

Mr Corkery is also teaching the individual instrumental lessons and I am sure the children will benefit greatly from his experience and expertise. If you are interested in your child learning an instrument, please let us know as soon as possible and we can provide further information.

Introducing Mr Mark Corkery 

Mark, known locally as the guru of guitar, has been teaching at Young Regional Conservatorium for 14 years. Specialising in guitar and drums, he enjoys teaching all styles of music and wants every student to enjoy playing, creating and performing. He is inspired by a wide variety of genres finding love and enjoyment in all forms of music and creative arts. Mark is a multi-faceted musician and recording artist. Check him out on Spotify!

The Henry Lawson Festival

It’s time to get ready for one of the most exciting events on the Grenfell calendar - the Henry Lawson Festival. Schedule 6th - 10th June, please plan on participating in what promises to be a fantastic weekend.

Thank you for helping the children with the selection of an Australian poem. Each child will be learning to recite their poem which they will share on Recitation Day on 6th June. This day is one of the important ways that the local schools participate in the Henry Lawson Festival. Students may choose to recite in either the Open section or the Henry Lawson section of the Recitation Day but all poems must be Australian.Please do encourage your child to practise their poem at home too - practise makes perfect!

Australian Early Development Census

St Joseph’s will be participating in this nation-wide initiative next week. Kindergarten parents should by now have received a letter with information about the AEDC. Please contact us should you have any questions. Thanks!

Minnie Vinnies 

Minnie Vinnies had their first meeting of the term this week. The group is busy planning for events coming up, the first one of which is Crazy Hair Day on 24th May. The children will be invited to make a gold coin donation and the group decided to raise funds for Save the Children. This is in response to the desire of the children in Minnie Vnnies to support children across the globe experiencing hardship and upheaval at present. Crazy Hair day will be  a mufti day with the children free to wear warm and comfortable clothes from home, topped off with some sort of crazy hair style. There will also be a meal deal of Spaghetti Bolognese, a popper and a Freddo available. 

The Minnie Vinnies group is very keen to run a raffle for an upcoming initiative to raise funds for the homeless. If you would like to donate a prize, the students would greatly appreciate this support!

Parenting Course - Circle of Serenity

St Joseph’s in collaboration with Home Sart Cowra will be offering support for parents this term in the form of a well respected parenting course, Circle of Serenity. Come and Kirsten Stewart from Home Start Cowra and learn some new skills and approaches to the most rewarding and demanding job of all, parenting.

In Conclusion…
At the time of publication, preparations are in full swing for the special Mother’s Day Breakfast on Friday. We look forward very much to welcoming you all to school to celebrate this special event and show our gratitude for all you do.

See you then!

With best wishes,

 Western Region Cross Country Recap

12 students went and competed at Batlow on Thursday 2nd of May for the annual Western Region Cross Country. 

Students from St. Joseph’s raced against 11 other regional schools. They all did an amazing job and everyone had lots of fun. Ariahana B did an incredible job and came second out of 32 people in the 12 Years Girls event. She made it to the next level in running which will be held in Canberra on 17th May.

It was a beautiful day and all the students were very cooperative. 

Special thanks to St Mary’s Batlow and St Joseph’s Adelong for hosting a great day, thank you to parents and family that took the time to get us there and to Mrs. Grant for cheering us on.

Reported by Saskia and Arabella.